Tyrell Sutton, RB, Northwestern

Tyrell Sutton may be small, but he's extraordinarily productive. Injuries have cut his junior and senior seasons down to just 7 and 9 games each, but Sutton was very productive early in those seasons. Sutton's ability to catch the ball out of the backfield (or to motion out into the slot) will help him to make it in the NFL. His senior campaign was strong when he was healthy, as he rushed for 890 yards and 6 touchdowns and caught 35 balls for 305 yards and 2 touchdowns. He tallied 3886 rushing yards and 31 TDs in his four years at Northwestern. He also boasts a 5.3 yards per carry average for his career, all the more impressive considering his 5'9", 205 lbs. frame. Sutton has hauled in 149 catches for 1244 yards for the Wildcats, scoring 6 receiving TDs. He's also a more than adequate pass blocker for his size, and does a great job of chipping at a linebacker and still making it into the flat to be the quarterback's safety valve. Sutton is stronger than he looks and runs well between the tackles. He has a similar style and skill set to Brian Westbrook of the Philadelphia Eagles. Sutton could make a very good third down back in the NFL and even work his way into an every down back if he gets bigger and stronger. Sutton may have the best hands of any running back in this entire draft class, which will have several teams interested. Sutton will be drafted low due to his size and injury history, but could turn out to be one of the better sixth round backs ever if he improves. Tyrell Sutton had a good week at the East-West Shrine Game in January. Sutton showed good vision and acceleration running the ball during practice. Reports say he did at times make too many cuts when he'd have been better served running north and south, but that will improve over time. During the game Sutton ran 10 times for 37 yards and a touchdown, and also returned 3 kicks for 82 yards. Tyrell Sutton showed up at the NFL Combine a little bigger than he usually played at, but without the results he expected. He ran a disappointing 4.66 second 40 yard dash. He did have a respectable 33 inch vertical leap, but he may have hurt his stock with this performance. Sutton is a late sixth or early seventh round prospect at this point.